Authorities mobilize against tree-killing beetle in Ulster County

LAKE KATRINE — Environmental authorities are cutting down and analyzing some 2,500 trees this month as part of a massive effort to hinder a tree-killing beetle in Ulster County.

Adam Bosch

LAKE KATRINE — Environmental authorities are cutting down and analyzing some 2,500 trees this month as part of a massive effort to hinder a tree-killing beetle in Ulster County.

The emerald ash borer infestation could cost governments millions if the penny-sized bug spreads to parks, trails and other public places where dead trees pose a safety risk. But experts hope their ongoing work can lessen the bills.

"We need to get communities prepared because their ash trees are going to die," said Jeff Wiegert, regional forester for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The metallic-green borer was first discovered in Ulster County in July, in a trap at the Saugerties KOA campground. DEC officials have since found the beetle in thousands of ash trees, the only variety it attacks. It's the easternmost infestation in the U.S. since the borer hit Michigan in 2002.

Foresters are now planning an attack on the beetle. Their first step has been a survey to determine where the beetle lives.

DEC workers this month began cutting down trees in four counties. The effort focused mostly on Ulster, but they also cut trees in Columbia, Dutchess and Greene counties to make sure the beetle hadn't flown north or over the Hudson River. None of the trees east of the Hudson had beetles in them.

Workers split the area into 888 half-mile by half-mile squares. Three trees were taken from sectors where beetles were never found, and one tree was taken from sectors of known infestation. Trees from Ulster were shuttled to a facility in Lake Katrine where they were stripped of their bark and studied.

DEC officials were helped by their peers from almost every state in New England, which fears it could be infested next.

Thus far, experts found the Ulster County population is shaped like a "T" lying on its side. That area stretches from Kingston north to Saugerties, and west along the Route 28 corridor to Woodstock.

Authorities aim to contain the infestation in those places because there is no method to eradicate the beetle.

"We're not out there trying to stop it — you're not gonna stop it," said DEC supervising forester Jeff Rider. "But we can try to make the population implode on itself."

The DEC believes it could decimate a generation of borers by wounding, or "girdling," a few healthy ash trees near the center of the infestation. Adult beetles are drawn to wounded trees, possibly by a pheromone. Rider said adult beetles could be attracted to lay their eggs on wounded trees, which would then be chopped and chipped to destroy the next generation.

Authorities also might use a pesticide known as emamectin benzoate, which kills the borers' larvae as they eat the tree, but that option is less practical because not all trees could be injected with the pesticide.

DEC officials must finalize a plan to attack the infestation before the borers' flight season, which starts about May 15.

Part of that plan will be an aggressive education campaign. Already, the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership coordinator is creating tree inventories in Catskill, Saugerties and Woodstock to assess what kind of liability governments could face as the bug kills trees. Experts said it could cost more than $1,000 to cut down a single tree.

And a coordinator has been appointed in most communities to spread the word: Keep your eyes on ash!

In Saugerties, Assistant Building Inspector Paul Economos has created a website, passed out fliers and circulated videos titled "The Green Menace" and "Lurking in the Trees." As an avid outdoorsman, he's taking the threat seriously.

"I see it as being a problem that's not just going to effect the economy," he said, "but a lot of things for people who enjoy their outdoor activities."

abosch@th-record.com

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